On breastfeeding my children

I know the hot topic right now is extended breastfeeding and attachment parenting. While I have thoughts on those subjects, it basically boils down to not for me but who I am to judge those it works for. I do breastfeed though. I nursed my son til he was 10 months old and plan on nursing my daughter for at least as long but I'm shooting for 12 months with her. It was a struggle for me with my son. I had problems with my milk coming in so that by the time it did he was supplementing with formula so as not to starve. After that he was mostly fed breast milk and it was a constant worry that I wouldn't produce enough milk to feed him once I went back to work. It was pretty day-to-day sometimes with very little stored in the freezer. My original goal with him was 2 months, but then it became 6 months and then I thought I'd press on til it was time to quit. That came around 9 months. He was going to start daycare and it seemed like a good place to stop. He weaned fairly easily, something I attribute to being use to formula and I was sad to stop but worked for us both.

So far it's been so very easy with the baby girl. She was brought to me while I was in recovery and latched on right away and it's been fairly smooth sailing ever since with my milk coming in right away. She is a great nurser and we have had very few problems. I have a lot of milk stored in the freezer since she does not eat as much as her brother did and I have to pump quite often. So I'm feeling quite good about this nursing experience. I tried to explain why I like breastfeeding my children so much to my sister. I couldn't come up with much more that It's nice. There is something about knowing that I am feeding my baby the healthiest option for her and that I am the one providing her food and that I can do it myself. It is also just a nice feeling I get when I nurse her and she looks so sweet and so full afterwards. It's a feeling that can't be beat.